Bonnie Oda Homsey is the founding Director of Los Angeles Dance Foundation (LADF), the nonprofit charitable corporation established in 1978 under which she and Janet Eilber co-founded the award-winning American Repertory Dance Company (ARDC). For ten years, she produced ARDC’s thematic concerts of 40+ reconstructions of modern dance masterworks (www.LADanceFoundation.org). ARDC performed at Kennedy Center, American Dance Festival, Dance Aspen, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Hawaii Theater, LA County Museum of Arts,

Museum of Contemporary Art, and home seasons presented at UCLA Live. In 2012, LADF produced her debut film, Michio Ito Pioneering Dancer-Choreographer. The short documentary had a NYC premiere at the 2012 Dance on Camera Festival at Lincoln Center and West Coast premiere at the 2014 Dance Camera West film festival. Her dedication to promote dance legacy resulted in a 2011 NEA grant with Dance Heritage Coalition to launch Dance Collections Database(DCDb) the first free online service matching dance professionals with America’s institutions to acquire dance resources and ephemera.

Since 2000, Ms. Homsey serves as Chair of Dance and Arts Advisory Board Member for The Princess Grace Foundation USA recognizing emerging artists in Theater, Dance, and Film with support in Scholarships and Fellowships (www.pgfusa.org). She launched new support for the Choreography Fellowship and the Choreography Mentorship Co-Commission, and was part of the team to conceive grants for Special Projects, the Work-In-Progress residency at Baryshnikov Arts Center, and Professional Development.

A former principal with the Martha Graham Dance Company under the direction of Ms. Graham, she originated roles in “Scarlet Letter” and “Lucifer” performing with Rudolph Nureyev, toured Europe and U.S. and the 1974 State Department Tour of Southeast Asia. During Broadway seasons, she performed the title role in “Phaedra” also filmed by Live from Wolftrap, and performed in Dance in America segments directed by Merrill Brockway. Other roles she danced were Electra in “Clytemnestra,” Red Girl in “Diversion of Angels,” Martyr in “Seraphic Dialogue,” Leader of Chorus in “Night Journey,” and Eve in “Embattled Garden.” She performed with Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Ethel Winter Dance Company, and Hawaii Opera Guild. Twice a grantee of the National College Choreography Initiative, Ms. Homsey restaged Martha Graham’s “Steps in the Street” at University of California Irvine, and a suite of Michio Ito solos at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Writings include the 2014 report, The Evolving State of Dance in Los Angeles (2014) commissioned by Center for Cultural Innovation, and articles published in various journals and books, plus curriculum guides for L.A. Unified School District. She was guest editor for Choreography and Dance with the issue Perspectives on the Healthy Dancer.

Her service as panelist includes National Endowment for the Arts Dance Panel and Challenge America Fast Track, New England Foundation for the Arts, California Arts Council, United States Artists, and municipal funding agencies. She joined the freshman Dance Division class when The Juilliard School relocated to Lincoln Center, later receiving a B.A. from University of Hawaii, and M.F.A. from University of California, Irvine where she was named the Chancellor’s Fellowship recipient and subsequently taught for six years. Currently her seminar, “Professional Plan for Dance,” introduces exit strategies preparing undergraduate and graduate students to transition into the professional workforce.

Biography provided by Bonnie Oda Homsey

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The Dance History Project’s goal is to observe and preserve the history of dance making and performing in Southern California. The focus is on those events and artists, past and present, whose work has been important to the field of live professional dance in Southern California. It includes the contributions of dancers, companies, educators, presenters, artistic collaborators, historians, and critics. More...

Stella Matsuda: Carol Warner,one of the original dancers from Gloria Newman Dance Theater, a beautiful, incredible, and energy filled dancer died on February 12, 2018, in Maine. RIP

Debbie Kay: is Lily Aguilar still alive?
do you have any contact for her?
debbie

Debbie Kay: I recently came across a large collection of
16mm color films from the 1950's which
features various East LA dancers known
as La Paloma Dancers, some of the people
in the films include: Lily Aguilar, Odelia, [...]

Stella Matsuda: Don Bondi, my friend and dance partner for over 50 years, passed away on Aug. 8, 2017. It's a personal loss to me but to the dance community. He will be missed.

Judith Aaen: I worked with Lois Ellyn for years. So happy to read her bio and see her beautiful photos

Maria Pilar Chacón-Galtman: I'm 63 and had the honor of taking dance lessons with Corina Valdez and Lily Aguilar. Such fond memories. I also took private lessons with Miss Aguilars daughters, Rosemarie and Blanca.

Barbara: I'm 67 and danced with Lily Aguilar and her daughter from 5 to 15. It all started in the Belvedere Park Gym.